by Nick Bishop
“What do you mean?”
“Okay. He does have his driver’s license, and his friend—the one he was with at Buehler’s—does have his own car.”
“Really?”
“I know that for a fact. His parents gave it to him for his sixteenth birthday, just after he passed his driving exam.”
“So, the other boy could have driven him to where Joe was parked.”
“Or Gary could have borrowed his car.”
“Isn’t that a stretch? The other boy then would have to be hiding what he knows about the murder. That’s a pretty strange thing to do. Not very likely, I would think.”
They reached the parking lot. “What about you? What was your impression?”
“I tend to believe Gary. I think his outburst was just that. But…who knows?”
Chapter Nine
Jed had an appointment after school Monday to stop in again and see Sam. For heading into fall, the temperature stood in the high eighties. Jed found a parking space a block from the police station and checked his pocket for change. Only a quarter! Twenty minutes worth of time. He could use a credit card or even pick up discount token at the police station in case the meeting lasted more than twenty minutes. Nah, he’d just take his chances.
He inserted the quarter and hurried to the police station where Sam sat behind the desk. “Oops,” Sam said as he jerked open a desk drawer and pushed half a doughnut inside.
“Ah ha! So, it isn’t just a myth then? The dynamic duo—a cop and a sugar doughnut. Best partners.”
“Hey, teach, good to see you.”
“You too, Sam,” Jed said taking the same straight-backed chair as the last time. “Go ahead and eat your doughnut. I won’t tell.”
Sam chuckled. “If you insist. He pulled out a box of five-and-a-half doughnuts. “Like one?” he asked.
“Sure, I’m a little hungry. But only if it won’t seriously cut into your supply. Wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?”
“Are you implying some sort of addiction! I’ll have you know I can stop whenever I want.”
“Are you sure of that?”
“After I finish this one.” He picked up the half-eaten doughnut, “and maybe another.”
“Uh huh,” Jed said knowingly. “How many times have I heard druggies say—”
Sam shoved the box toward him. “And I’m recruiting, see! Once I get you hooked, you’ll be hooked for life.”
Jed laughed. “So, any progress on the murder investigation?”
“Not much.” He shook his head. “This is a tough one. We decided to look for tire tracks in the field where Johnstone parked.”
“No luck?”
“Of course, the field is grassy. You can see where another vehicle, car or truck pulled off beside Johnstone’s car, but the only evidence someone else was there at all was flattened grass and weeds. No tread.”
“Could it have been an Amish buggy?”
Sam looked skeptical. “The tracks were too wide. Unless…”
“What?”
“The buggy pulled on and off the road more than once to make it look like the wheels were wider.”
“You mean buggy tracks one against the other.”
“Yeah.” He took a bite of his doughnut. So, did Jed, who quickly brushed a hand over his chin to get rid of any lingering grains of sugar. “But that isn’t very likely at all, is it?”
“I wouldn’t think so. Nothing else?”
“I tried to catch Jacob Yoder at home, but it seems he was on some church business or other. Wife had no idea when he’d be back. Of course, I notified the Sweet River police first and asked if it was okay to talk with him.”
“No objection?”
“They were very cooperative, seeing as how it was Briner’s son-in-law who was killed. They even told me they’d talk with Yoder, if I liked. I told them to go ahead.”
“I guess they haven’t gotten back to you yet.”
“Nope. While I was in Sweet River, I arranged to talk with the principal and the superintendent. Drew a blank. Seems they don’t know anything…beyond the few suspects we already have.”
“Yoder, the wife, the boy, Briner himself.”
“That’s it.” He took a last bite of his second doughnut and held out the box again to Jed.
“No thanks, I’ll spoil my dinner.”
“Dinner, eh? One of the lucky guys who actually can take time to sit down to a full meal.”
“For a change!”
“I guess you and I did have similar schedules.”
“Still a lot of work—papers to grade, lessons to plan. That sort of thing to at least try to keep ahead of the kids in my class. But at least I can do it when I want instead of being called out any time of day or night.”
“I envy you.”
“You’d make a good teacher.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. Once a cop, always a cop.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of Joseph Wambaugh?”
“Un huh, and he went back and joined the force later, didn’t he?”
“You got me there, I guess… So, what about Mrs. Johnstone? I’m sure you’ve been in contact.”
“And that’s about all. She wouldn’t see me.”
“Couldn’t you insist?”
“I’ll give it a few days. I know, if my wife—God forbid—died, I wouldn’t want to talk to anyone.”
“You’re a good man, Sam.”
Sam shrugged. “But maybe you’d have better luck in talking to her. Of course, I’m sure you don’t know her.”
“I don’t. In fact, I hardly knew Joe.”
“But maybe just the fact that you and he taught at the same school.”
“Of course, I’ll be happy to try. Maybe see if I can talk with her after school tomorrow.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” He stood. “Gotta go. I only had a quarter for the meter!”
“I’ll send a meter maid to your car right away.”
Jed laughed. “And you’d do it too, wouldn’t you?”
“Gotta protect the city from dangerous criminals.”
As Jed strode toward his car, he noticed a meter maid checking the car in front of him. He broke into a run just as she headed toward his car. Quickly, he pulled out his keys, pushed the remote control, raced to his car and jumped inside. He inserted the key into the ignition and looked up to see the meter maid shaking her head. He gave her a wave and pulled away from the curb.
***
Of course, the cats were glad to see him, even though Sugar acted totally nonchalant about his being there. That is, until he headed for the kitchen. Then she was totally interested, running to the cat dishes, back to him, and to the dishes again.
He laughed. “So, you must think it’s dinnertime,” he said. “What about you, Spice, do you agree?”
“Mrow,” Spice said as he rubbed against Jed’s foot.
After he fed the two he decided to cook spaghetti with his own special sauce, the recipe of which he would not share with anyone. Then he decided to call Ellie and see if she would like to come for dinner.
“That would be nice,” she said on the phone. They agreed on 6:30.
“I talked again with Sam,” Jed told her. “I’ll tell you about it when you come to the house—though there’s not much to tell.”
“I have a little bit of news too, but like you, I don’t have much.”
“Come over any time you like. It won’t take me long to fix the spaghetti. And maybe we can catch up beforehand and then just enjoy dinner.”
“That would be nice,” Ellie answered.
About twenty minutes later the doorbell rang. Unbelievably, Jed thought, it was Sugar who ran to the door. Spice was always the one who greeted visitors. One thing Jed knew for sure, though. You could never precisely predict what a cat was going to do. “It’s unlocked, Ellie. Come on in.”
“Jed. How nice to be here.”
“I’ve started, so if you’d like to take a seat at the
table, I’ll go ahead and finish.”
“Thanks. She looked at the two cats who sat in the middle of the floor, Spice washing his face and not paying attention to Jed or Ellie. Sugar, on the other hand, was rubbing against Ellie’s leg.”
“Just ignore him, if he bothers you,” Jed said.
“Bothers me! I’ve had cats all my life. Only the past couple of years I’ve been cat-less. Decided I’m getting too old for the responsibility.”
“You? Getting too old? I don’t think so.”
Ellie laughed. “Thanks. But it was heartbreaking when the last one died. Of old age. So, I didn’t think I wanted to go through that again.”
“I certainly understand.”
Suddenly, Spice seemed to spy Ellie for the first time. He raced over and jumped into her lap, meowing. Then Sugar joined the chorus.”
“Goodness,” Ellie said. “It’s as if they can talk.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised if they could talk—if they had the proper vocal mechanism. They’re two pretty smart kitties.”
“I think all cats are wiser than we give them credit for. Which reminds me of something. My son.”
“You’ve mentioned him once or twice.”
“He’s a math prof at Kent State. But the thing is my husband and I thought he was mentally handicapped.”
“Oh, why is that?”
“He didn’t talk.”
“What do you mean?”
He just never talked like a normal kid. We took him from one specialist to another, but none of them could figure out why.”
“So how long did this go on?”
“Until he was five. Until then he didn’t say a word!”
“That’s strange. So, all at once he started.”
“Oh, he certainly did. With a bang!”
Jed laughed. “What happened.”
“We were eating dinner. And all at once Tom said, “Dad, will you please pass me the salt.”
Earl and I sat there astounded, our mouths open.”
“Tom,” I said, “you can talk.”
“Of course, I can talk!”
“But you never talked before this.”
“Mother,” he said.
“What, Tom?”
“I never had anything before this that I really wanted to say.”
“You’re kidding!” Jed said.
“I’m not. And the way he spoke sounded like a little adult, except a little too formal.”
“And after that he continued to talk?”
“He certainly did.”
“Well, then,” Jed said. “Maybe there’s hope for Sugar and Spice.”
“You never can tell,” Ellie answered. “So, what did you find out from your detective friend?”
“He tried to see Jacob Yoder, but he wasn’t home, and Joe’s wife wouldn’t talk with him.”
“Couldn’t he have insisted?”
“He said he didn’t want to force her.” Jed shrugged. “He suggested I try to talk with her. He thought since Joe and I taught together, she might be more inclined to talk with me.”
“I guess Sam knows he can trust you to ask the right questions.”
“I know it’s unusual, but I certainly trust him to handle a situation.”
“And vice versa.”
“Anyhow, I was thinking that we might go together to talk with her. You knew Joe better than I did.”
“Well, at least I knew him longer. Not sure any of the other teachers got to know him well.”
“Are you willing to go with me…if his wife agrees to see us?”
“It’s sad that someone has to intrude on her privacy, but maybe better us than anyone else. She must be feeling awful, particularly after the fight she and Joe had had.” She looked up from petting Sugar and Spice. “So what else did Sam say?”
“Only that they checked for tire tracks to see if they could identify any other vehicle. That is, if whoever shot him drove to the field.”
“Someone must have.”
“Yes, they found evidence of another vehicle…but have no way of determining what sort.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The car or pickup or whatever it was pulled off the road, all right. But the field is filled with tall grass and weeds, which prevented there being any identifiable tracks.”
“Too bad. But I’d think that was a long shot anyhow.”
“I agree. But it could have helped at least to be able to figure out the sort of vehicle.”
Ellie laughed.
“What?”
“You keep saying ‘vehicle.’ Makes you sound like a cop.
“Cop. Investigative reporter. You pick up the lingo.”
“Anything else?”
“Nope. What about you?”
“I checked around,” Ellie said, “and the good news is that the friend of Gary’s, the one who has a car?”
“Yes?”
“It was parked outside the school all day.”
“How did you find that out?” Jed asked.
“Kids who drive to school have to have special permission to use the parking lot. There are only three kids in the school with cars. Every day the office checks to see if any other student has parked there.”
“And Scott’s car was there all day.”
“It was,” Ellie answered.
“Good. It backs up Gary’s story, which is good for him. But I’m not sure how good it is for us.”
“I guess we have to keep on digging… Into Gary’s story, as well,” Ellie said.
“Dinner’s almost ready. Afterward, I’ll call Joe’s wife and see if she’ll talk with us. When’s a good time for you?”
“No appointments or anything scheduled the rest of the week…except for school, of course.”
“Tomorrow or the next day?”
“Either is fine.”
Joe’s wife picked up after the first ring. Joe explained that he and Ellie would like to talk with her about Joe. She said she wasn’t up to talking to anyone the next day but promised to try the day after that.
Chapter Ten
Jed had nothing planned for the next day after school. No papers to grade, no lesson plans to make. So, he decided to take the late afternoon and evening off and go to Tuscora Park in New Philadelphia. Sugar and Spice loved to go there and watch the ducks. He’d once tried them on leashes, but it didn’t work. They yowled and pulled and jerked, trying to get free. So, no more leashes.
Then he came up with an idea. He’d seen playpens with mesh sides. Of course, people would think he was loco, but a playpen would be a good place to put the cats when they went to the park. They could watch the duck through the mesh but not be able to get out…if he devised a top, which was exactly what he did. He had a friend construct a lid or frame to which was attached a mesh top. It fastened down, so Sugar and Spice couldn’t escape. They probably wouldn’t anyway, but the top was insurance in case they became too excited by the ducks and tried to leap out of the playpen to catch one.
Oh, people always gave him strange looks when he set up the playpen.
“You think the kid’s going to try to run away?” a man asked him the last time he’d brought Sugar and Spice to the park.
“No, but the cats might,” he told the man.
“Cats!”
“Sugar and Spice. They like to watch the birds.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” the man said.
Jed broke out laughing. As the old talk host used to say, “I kid you not.”
This time he found a spot under a leafy tree and a bench with a back where he could sit and read while Sugar and Spice enjoyed the scenery. He’d brought along one of his favorite books, Not Wanted on the Voyage, by Canadian author Timothy Findley. He’d discovered the book as a teenager and must have read it at least half a dozen times.
Once the playpen was set up, he brought the cat carriers from the car, opened them, and released the cats inside the playpen. Immediately, their tails began to switch back and forth a
s they watched the ducks…and occasional sparrows and robins.
Jed picked up his book, leaned back in contentment, and began to read. On a sloping hill behind was a picnic pavilion. He stretched his legs and arms and glanced behind him. And he saw her, sitting there eating a sandwich. Most likely filled with lettuce, tomato, and a big scoop of mayonnaise—one of her favorite lunches. His old girlfriend, Sara Peters. She noticed him and smiled.
“Jed, how have you been.”
“Good,” Jed said as he laid down his book. “How about you.”
“Fine. Late lunch. Busy at the office. A client who wants to sue her husband. A husband who wants to sue his wife. The usual.” Sara was an attorney with an office in the downtown area. “Luckily, I packed my favorite lunch and decided to get away from the craziness, at least for a little while.”
“Good to see you.”
“I hear you’re not at the newspaper anymore.”
“Nope. From now on you can call me Teach.”
“At Caraway, right?”
“Now who’s the investigative reporter?”
Sara laughed. “I hadn’t seen your byline for a while and decided to check up on you. See if you were okay.”
“I’m doing well. Love teaching, though the pay isn’t the greatest…even compared to being a reporter on a local newspaper. But it’s enough.”
“I see you still have Sugar and Spice, and it looks as if they still like to watch the ducks.”
“I don’t know how I’d survive without them, so I figure once in a while I have to show them my appreciation by bringing to the park.”
“You’re the only person I know who would go to such lengths for his pets.”
Jed laughed. “I think I owe it to them. They’re great companions. And I enjoy coming here too.”
“Maybe you can do that more often now.”
“I hope…though it’s not only the students who have to do homework.”
“Not a lot of free time, I gather.”
“Especially right now?”
“Are you involved in something else.”
He chuckled. “You can take the man out of investigative reporting, but you can’t take investigative reporting out of the man.”
“That means you do miss your job.”
“Maybe a little. But now I’m doing something I want to do, something I feel is important; to work with kids. It’s a good feeling.”